The Beginning
by oceangirl122
Summary: Casey Taylor Anderson was a normal high school girl until one night when every belief she had once held dear to her heart was about to be provne false. Every single idea of the world she once thought she knew was about to be shattered forever.
1. Chapter 1

The laughter and voices filled my ears like the wind as I glanced around at my friends. We had always loved coming to the Mystic Grill to catch up or go there after a big football game at school. Matt Donovan was the quarterback on the team, he often joined us for these little outings. If he wasn't working as a busboy here.

My sharp eyes noticed, much to my disappointment, that he and Caroline Forbes were keeping their distance from each other that night. Nothing much from them except a muted 'hello' and 'how are you?' It was a damn depressing sight because of how physically compatible they were and how much they were attracted to one another.

"Are you two on the outs _again?" _I asked, putting a cucumber into my mouth and chewing very slowly. I smirked and shook my head when Caroline and Matt both looked uncomfortable, shifting around in their seats, their eyes darting anywhere but at each other. It was too hilarious to even believe.

"We're taking a _break," _Matt emphasized. His fingers dug into his fork as he ate his side salad. His school t-shirt was enhanced by the thick muscles that practically dug out from his shoulders. His messy dark blond hair was messy from football practice.

"You two take a "break" every five minutes," Bonnie Bennett said, scrutinizing them. "How long is that going to last?"

Caroline shrugged. The subject was clearly bothering her. Usually Caroline Forbes was the life and soul of any party but this one she was more subdued than I had ever seen her. She was seated between Bonnie and I. Matt had the booth across all to himself.

"Let's drop it before world war three, please?" I asked. I didn't trust Matt and Caroline to keep their fighting to themselves. Even though Matt worked at the Grill on a two day shift, that probably wouldn't stop him from engaging in a war of words with his on the rocks girlfriend in front of his bosses.

"I'm not starting anything," Matt said, shrugging. He finished his salad and ordered a refill for his diet coke.

I was dateless like Bonnie was. She didn't have anyone steady except for this guy, Luke and he had apparently died in some strange fire accident. She had been vague on the details but something about how he had accidently been set on fire by someone.

His father, Jonas had been beside himself with grief. The whole town had buzzed about how the death had happened so suddenly and how there was no way he could have killed himself while the father was sitting right next to him. That was another of the creepy details that had leaked to the press: Jonas had been sitting right next to Luke when his death had occurred.

Now the police were investigating the death further. Interviewing friends and family about the father/son relationship they had.

"What time is it?" I asked suddenly, reaching to find my phone in my pocket. The black Iphone in my hand told me I had twenty minutes to get home before I broke curfew. I shifted uneasily in my seat. I was having too much fun to leave but knew my Mom would have a heart attack if I showed up even five minutes late.

"I have to go." Bonnie moved so I could get out of the booth and she handed me my purse. They looked disappointed that their little party was breaking up but they knew I couldn't do anything else about it.

"See you tomorrow for the parade?" Caroline asked, her face lighting up with excitement at the annual Founder's day parade. I wasn't one of the founding families but still got to ride in the float along with Elena Gilbert and Caroline.

"Would I really miss that?" I asked, my tone of voice implying that Caroline was stupid to ever assume I would miss it. Even ask me that question.

"No," Bonnie chimed in.

"Thank you," I replied simply. I walked out the door of the Grill then and into the cool night air. I had parked the car about a mile down the road due to lack of parking space. It wasn't ideal especially in the chilly air.

I drew my AeroPostal sweat shirt closer around my body as I walked. The night had more than a chilly feeling, it had an _eerie _feeling. It felt like someone was watching me. That feeling you get when you think someone is watching you? I felt that.

At times it felt like that presence was only inches behind me. I spun around, looking into the dark night. Nothing. There was nothing except the sound of a lone car driving down the street. Nothing scary or spooky about that.

I tried to calm myself. To tell myself that I was fine. That I was perfectly safe here in this small town in this small outdoor space near the Grill. I shook my head and myself out of this stupid fear, thinking I was stupid to be so afraid of the dark.

It was when I turned around to go back to my car that I came face to face with the person that had followed me. He was dressed in a black leather jacket with a black shirt underneath. Dark blue jeans and his hair was slicked back with gel.

I would have thought he was incredibly handsome if not for the situation I found myself in. He stood there, staring at me with the most unfathomable expression on his face. It was something similar to worry. But worry for _what? _His features had softened when they looked down at my face. He seemed to be restraining himself from reaching out and stroking my face.

"What do you want?" I asked, finding my voice. My voice was slightly above a normal pitch partly because I felt stupid about letting a guy scare me and because of the way he was looking at me. The question came out ruder than I had wanted it to.

…"So beautiful," he muttered to himself, looking me up and down like I was an animal on display at the zoo. This time he didn't restrain himself and he let his hand explore my face, running down it and cupping my cheek.

I jerked back, surprising myself at how I knew that I had to get out of this situation. It was like I had a sense called "This is wrong" hammering into my brain telling me that this man, as gorgeous as he was, was still extremely dangerous.

"I have to go," I said, attempting to walk past him. He easily sidestepped into my way. His face still had that expression of love for me, of defense even. He looked like he wanted to guard me from ever coming into harm.

"You're going to die," he said to me. He looked like he was mentally slapping himself for saying that in such a bold and foreword manner.

"Excuse me?" I asked, staring at him in disbelief. What was this guy on? He was talking like a lunatic on crack-not a good combination.

"You are going to die," he said again, this time he enunciated each word like I was stupid.

"No need to talk like I'm freakin' stupid," I spat.

"Then don't act like it. I know what I'm talking about. You are sick with cancer. Very sick, actually."

I almost laughed in his face. Cancer, huh? Well, he succeeded in getting my attention. I looked at him like he had suddenly sprouted two heads and was talking in Bulgarian.

"Cancer? Really? I'm seventeen-years-old."

"So? You still have it and…I won't let you suffer through the treatments and all the other bull you'd have to go through."

I scoffed. "What do you mean "you won't let me"'? I asked, eyeing the purse I carried and wondering if I could use it against him. I waited for a chance. My grandmother had taught me how to effectively hit a would be kidnapper with a purse.

Those lessons had actually been effective for a ten-year-olds mind. I had gone around whacking anyone I could find with my little plastic purse in school. The teachers' hadn't been too happy with my grandmother.

I could smell the cologne coming from this man and thought it smelled like something David Beckham would wear. He was still staring. It looked like he was drinking in every inch of my body, soaking it in.

Now. Now was my chance. I whacked him across the middle of his chest with the purse and was able to sidestep around him and run. I couldn't hear any pursuit from him. I thought I had lost him. I felt a brief moment of satisfaction that I had managed to take care of myself against a creep.

My Mom would be upset, of course but she would be grateful that I had managed to defend myself. Maybe she would even extend my curfew an hour or so. I had barely gotten this thought out when my scream caught in my throat. He was standing in front of me!

That was impossible. How could he be standing in front of me like that? When I hadn't even heard him approach? He was looking slightly angry at me for defying him and probably for the bruise I had left on his chest.

"You're awfully stubborn, you know?" He said, before grabbing me and shoving me into an alley. He slammed me against a flat brick wall. I was trapped. I knew it, then too. His body was the thing that separated me from the exit.

"Okay, okay, I'll go to the damn doctor," I shouted in his face. I hoped that someone would hear my scream and call the police or come running. But I didn't want anyone else coming into contact with this man whoever he was.

He shook his head. "No. I won't let you suffer through months of chemo treatments before finally dying."

He was crazy, I decided. He needed mental help. I was about to tell him as much when I gave out a terrified whimper when his face suddenly contorted into a face I could only describe as a demon's face.

I knew then that any chance I had at escape was done. It was over for me. He would kill me or do something worse than that and _then _kill me. But either way I knew that he had won over me. He was in control of me now.

I tried to keep calm, but I soon abandoned that idea. It would do no good to remain calm so why should I? He was going to kill me. Plain and simple. He had faked concern over me to get me into this place right now.

I stared at him horrified as he brought his wrist up close to his mouth and bit down on it, drawing blood. I knew that my mind must have been making me go crazy because when he bit down on that wrist, I swore I saw actual fangs pierce the skin.

I didn't have long to ponder this thought before he was bringing his wrist up to my mouth! I felt my heart climb up into my throat as it came closer and closer. What was he going to make me do? The possibilities were too terrifying to imagine.

I whimpered and tried to turn my head away but his steel iron grip turned my head back so I was facing him. He brought his wrist up to my mouth then and pressed his wrist down, making sure that it was tightly pressed.

His blood oozed into my mouth. It ran over my tongue and tried to slide down into my throat. I refused them that right. No, this man would not control me and would not force me to take part in his sickening game.

The blood built up in my throat. It tasted like metal and had a sickening sweet taste to it. It made me want to throw up. My mind swam as I tried to fight his strength. The blood built up and I started choking on it.

He abruptly removed his wrist from my mouth and let me choke out the blood. Almost half of it spilled out. It colored the grey pavement with a sickening sight like a murder scene. Some of the blood ran down my chin and spilled on my light colored shirt.

"Listen to me," he ordered. "You drink the blood. Do not fight me off."

I stared him straight in the eye, mustering all my strength to put into these two words: "Screw you."

"Do not resist again," he warned me. He brought his wrist back up to my mouth and the game began all over again. Only this time he jerked my head back so that it cracked sickeningly against the wall. He let the blood flow into my mouth once again and I realized that he was jerking my head back so that the blood could flow freely without much resistance from me.

He then put his other free hand on my throat and massaged my throat so that the blood would flow down. Almost like when a dog owner massages their dog's throat to get all their medication down. The blood flowed down my throat uninterrupted.

"You wanted to do this the hard way, that's what we're doing," he whispered roughly in my ear. He kept his wrist up to my mouth for several more seconds before removing it finally.

I looked into his eyes, begging him for mercy. I prayed that he would have mercy on me and kill me quickly or just let me go. Somehow I knew that latter option wasn't an option. I resigned myself to my fate but not without sadness for the family I would leave behind and the wonderful friends.

"And the last part," he whispered. "Is just like flipping a switch. You go 1. 2.3. And then snap-" he had his hands around my neck and when he snapped my neck, I lost all feeling in my body as it fell down to the ground.

The last feeling I had before everything faded to black was the sensation of my body falling to the ground. It was almost like a feeling of being in a dream where you're falling and falling and then you wake up.

I knew though that I would most certainly _not _be waking up anytime soon. I was dead and leaving this world. How many people survived having their necks snapped? Not many.

**(Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!) **


	2. Chapter 2

You know that feeing of falling? Where you're in a dream and you feel like you're just floating? No pain, no traumas. Just you and that peaceful feeling. I felt that even though I knew it was wrong and that I should be feeling something _totally _different.

My mind dimly registered what had happened to me. I had been attacked by some physcho who claimed that I had "cancer" and was going to die. I didn't really believe him and told him as much. But lovely fate intervened and he ended up getting me.

He had attacked me. Force fed me his blood, force fed it to me _again _when I choked half of it up. He basically cracked my skull when he jerked my head back against the brick wall and yanked my head back.

What was with that guy? He had had the face of a god like Adonis or some other mystical figure of that nature, but he had had the menacing, frightning face of a serial killer. His cologne reeked of money from higher places and his self-assured strut and self-assured smirk would bring weaker girls to their knees.

He had killed me. He had snapped my neck. So why was feeling? Why did I feel? I felt a sensation like I was falling. But why? It didn't make any sense to me.

The first "real" sensation I felt was the feeling of softness. Of a very, very soft sofa or couch. Hmm, it smelled good. My fingers reached out and felt the warm pillows that were lined on the sides of the couch.

The feeling of just _being _was a nice, totally welcome feeling. It felt nice to just lie there. Some part of my brain gently tried to nudge me into awareness, into the fact that I was on some couch that wasn't familiar to me. I should be wigging out and trying to wake up. But I wasn't.

Huh.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, and without much warning, I felt all of my senses returning to me at once and my eyes, they suddenly flashed open. I looked around. I was definitely not in Kansas! The room I had been placed in was a large room with beautiful antique furniture and a roaring fireplace.<p>

I gazed at it open-mouthed. I wondered who owned this beautiful, majestic house. But right then, my appreciation for the house was put on hold when one of my natural senses overpowed me: Hunger. Boy, did I feel hungry.

It was like I had been starved for a week and had only just realized how it had hurt. I jumped up from the couch, surprised at how fast and how strong I was considering my lack of food. I went looking through the huge house for a kitchen. There had to be one _somewhere. _

The halls and turns of the house made me feel as if I were in a maze. A very beautiful, complicated maze. I pushed open a pair of swinging double doors and laid my eyes on the beautiful kitchen. It was just like the rest of the house: Dark, but beautiful.

I went over to the fridge and practically tore it off its hinges to get inside. The sweet smell of corn on the cob, salads, baked potatos, macaroni and cheese, all of those and more assaulted my nose as soon as the fridge opened. I didn't know which plate to grab first so I settled on grabbing a few at a time. I dug my spoon into the macaroni dish and had finished its contents in under a minute.

I next went to the other goods and finished them off. I felt almost like I was coming off a hangover or coming off from being high. It felt like that especially with the pounding headache and the sensitivity to the sun.

I rubbed my dirty hands on my jeans, not caring if I got them dirty and not caring if anyone saw me in them. They were ruined anyway from the blood and dirt stains. I looked around the kitchen, wondering why my eyes were hurting from the sun.

Why would my eyes be hurting from the sun? The only connection I made was that it had something to do with my headache. I ran around the counter to the large window above the sink and slid the curtains back into place, blocking the light from coming back in.

Ah, that felt better. _Too _better. It was like I was a vampire or something. One touch and the sun would kill. I laughed that insane notion off right away. Vampires. Our world was fascinated by the undead. Twilight, Vampire Academy, etc. So many books and movies.

I shoved the dirty plates into the sink and walked out back into the living room, careful to avoid the sunny parts. I must be crazy, I thought. That would be it. There was no way I could survive a broken neck and then wake up as if everything had been a freaky dream thing.

"Hello," a girlish, sugary sweet voice said to me. It was Elena. I recongized the voice as Elena's. I spun around, glad to see a familiar face. She was lounging on the couch with a dark red wine cup in her hand.

"Elena! Where you have you _been?" _

She scoffed. "I'm not Elena. My name is Katherine Pierce."

My mouth fell open. Did Elena have a secret twin she never told me about? Because if she did, that girl would have serious explaining to do. I gaped at her. They really _could _be twins. They had the same length of hair, same lips, ears, everything.

"How do you two look exactly alike?" I asked, voicing the next obvious question.

"We're dopplegangers. She's related to me, blah blah blah it's a long story." She sounded almost bored telling me all of this.

"Who are _you?" _She asked, and I knew that her interest in me was real. She sat up and stared intently at me. I swallowed from her penetrating gaze.

"Casey Anderson," I said, looking down at the ground. Maybe she could help me figure out what the hell was going on.

"I know who you are," she said. "You have a bitchy sister, Adrienne, a jocky jock brother Trey and no father but a rea winner of a mother?" I nodded. That about summed it up.

"How do you know all that?"

"Because I know people around here. I should, anyway. I was here right after it was founded."

"You mean back in 1864?" Were we both suffering from some mental condition? This woman would have to be around a hundred and forty five years old! And she looked no older than seventeen.

"That was when the town was founded, right?" She asked, as if stupid old me should know this. "I was here during the battle and escaped from it after being caught. Long story", she added.

I settled on a seat across from her and savored the soft feeling of the soft leather. The couch and the whole house told me that someone had money and lots of it. It looked like it could store about twenty people for months without a problem.

"Why do I feel so thirsty?" I asked, swallowing hard. It felt like I hadn't had a square drink in weeks. Almost as if I had been out in the desert and had been deprived of water.

"Because you're going through the change," she replied.

"The change?" I repeated dumbly

She nodded. "Yup. Where you go out and feed on some poor unfortunate soul and then you're a bad ass vampire." She smiled at the last few sentences.

I gaped at her. Okay, I now _knew _she was insane. She could not be a vampire. I could not be a vampire and I knew I needed to get the hell out of this house. I jumped up from my seat and began marching my way towards the front door, determined to be anywhere but there.

"Just come sit down and listen," Katherine sighed like she was talking to an immature brat.

"Who changed me?" I asked, after a moments hesitation. "Who did this to me?"

Katherine smirked. "Damon. Idiot. Weeks without human blood and this kind of thing can happen."

I gaped at her, my mouth hanging open so far I could feel spit start to come out. I closed it and wiped the spit off. She was staring at me as if all of this made perfect sense to her and I was being slow on the uptake.

"He said I was dying," I remembered.

Her laugh was like that of a wind chime-only darker and more piercing. She fixed me with her gaze and wouldn't let me go. She shook her head at me as if to tell me how incredibly stupid I was to believe that story.

"Is that the story? Vampires kill for a few reasons: 1. For love. 2. Out of boredom. 3. For the hell of it. Damon, knowing him as I know him, did two and three. No way in hell he did it for love."

"Why do I feel so thirsty?" I asked again.

"You need blood. And nothing will satisfy that until you get some."

She got up, extending her hand towards me. I grasped it and she easily yanked me up. She inspected me up and down. "Well, first things first is that you need one of these." She held up a dark blue bauble that was on her finger.

"The Lapsis Luzuli ring. It protects you from getting fryed like a fry."

"How do you get those?"

"From a witch. I had Emily Bennett make me one _ages _ago. She was useful. Shame that she isn't around anymore."

"Who can make me one now?"

She picked a piece of lint off her shirt. "Any witch with any ring. Bonnie Bennett is one and Lucy Bennett. Descendant of Bonnie," she added seeing my questioning look. "The problem is finding someone who would actually do that, though. Not many witches find associating with a vampire to be at the top of their to do list."

"I wonder why," I remarked dryly. A spark suddenly seemed to show up in her eyes. She held up a finger to stop me from speaking.

"Wait here. Be back in oh...ten minutes." Before I could say anything, she had run out the door and left me. I walked around, finding the huge library to be of great interest. The owners of this house obviously had a love of books.

The books covered nearly every topic there was to cover and most of the books looked as if they were hundreds of years old. I turned one book over in my hands, examining the faded and dusty leathering of an Italian book. The book was in Italian so I couldn't read or translate it.

One book in particular caught my interest. It was bound in brown leather and looked to be a couple hundred years old. It was squished in between the other books as if it didn't mean anything. I picked it up and flipped it over so the title was staring up at me:

Petrova

Petrova? My eyebrows shot up to the top of my forehead. That name sounded so familiar to me but at the same time it didn't. It was like I had heard it in a past life or had heard it once before and had lost the memory of it.

I didn't have time to ponder the thought before the front door slammed open. I hastily put the book back and turned around. Katherine had come back with a grungy looking human. He was about twenty and looked like the slums kind of kid.

She whispered something in his ear, looking directly at me as she spoke. When she drew back, he walked foreword as if he was in a trance. I stood frozen. My whole body stood frozen, like an ice statue.

I could feel the Power on the verge of exploding from me. He reached foreword and took my hand. His dark, beautiful grey eyes looked up to my confused, dark green ones.

"It's okay. I'm not scared. Drink. Drink all you need." He then shifted so that his neck was right up next to my throat. I swallowed hard.

"Why?" I asked, Katherine.

"You need human blood. I compelled him to behave." Her tone of voice-the way she said it it was like human life held little to no interest or meaning to her. They were throwaways that were objects for her personal entertainment.

"I don't mind," the man said. "Puncture right here." He drew an imaginary point with his finger.

"I can't hurt you," I whispered, looking at him, hoping desperately that he would leave.

"Do it," he replied.

"You can't deny the bloodlust, Casey," Katherine whispered in my ear, sounding almost gleeful of what she was doing. And it was true. It was like teetering on the edge of a very dangerous cliff. I didn't want to hurt this man, no. But I also knew that it was the only way.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see his face any more than I had to. It was bad enough, and in that moment, I hated Katherine for what she did. For dooming this man to his death, to essentially bring him to the lion's den.

I felt the Power come out of me, felt thin veins push out and cover my face. I felt my jaw and teeth harden as two fangs burst themselves out onto both sides of my mouth. I leaned foreword and, without hesitation, sank my teeth into his buttery thin skin.

The blood tasted pure and unaffected. It tasted like the finest whine you could possibly buy. A whine so rare that it was only made in a certain country. This man tasted like that. I wasn't sure if it was just of the fact that it was my first kill or not, but his blood was intoxicating.

I pulled back from him when I felt his body go limp in my arms. I turned to Katherine and she grinned at me. An approving smile on her lips. I felt like Katherine's pet toy that she coul wind up and use because I was so new to this life.

"Don't worry about it. I'll hide the body," she said, coming over and taking my burden from me. She hoisted it over her shoulder like a sack of potatos and began to march out the door. The kill had probably taken under a minute but it felt like it had been much longer than that.

"Katherine, what did I tell you?" A new voice came into the picture. My back was turned to it but it sounded annoyed and disapproving.

"Someone had to show her the ropes."

I recognized that voice. Damon. The man who had taken my life away from me on the guise that I was sick and dying of some fantasy illness. I took deep, calming breaths. I was perfectly aware that I could rip his throat out if I wanted to. Rip it out and shove it somewhere not too pretty. His voice was so full of swagger and had an air like none of this mattered or did matter but wasn't important enough to get too upset about.

I finally decided to turn around and face him. It was liking facing my worst nightmare. I was facing the person who had stolen my hopes and dreams and had turned me into every person's worst nightmare. He was dressed exactly as I remembered him in, leather on leather.

I gritted my teeth and took a step towards him. He extended his hand toward me as if he wanted to shake it. His ring. His blue ring set on his left hand on his index finger. How easy it would be to snatch that tacky thing and set it upon my finger.

"Hello, Casey," he said. "I believe I didn't get a chance to introduce myself properly the last time we met."

"You were too busy deciding the best way to kill me."

"You're right and you're wrong," he replied smoothly. I stared at him. How could he do that? How could he do those sexy-ish tricks with those eyes? Those blue eyes that any man would dream to have and every girl wishes she could find on a man.

"How am I wrong and right?" I challenged.

"The full story you already know," he replied. "Its a waste to tell it again."

"Tell me," I repeated. "Now."


	3. Chapter 3

I saw Damon grit his teeth as I ordered him to tell me what he meant. I somehow knew that he wasn't accustomed to being told what to do. Though, I could see in his eyes that he didn't think he had a choice. He sighed a deep sigh and began to tell me…

When he was done, it still didn't really change my position but I understood him a little better. I also learned some valuable insight on vamps. Apparently, we were able to smell like freakin' dogs and he could smell the cancer in my body.

He had been trying to think of a painless as possible way to turn me but the fact that I struggled, made that plan impossible. He apologized to me for the force he used. Those blue, very blue eyes of his sent my heart into tiny little flutters, though there was no way in hell I was letting him know that.

"Who is she?" I asked, pointing to Katherine. She was lounging on the chais, reminding me of Angelina Jolie. She took another swig of her blood and looked lazily at Damon.

"She's my bitch of a maker," Damon answered.

Katherine suddenly blurred up next to him and put her finger seductively on his bottom lip. She gazed at him as if he was the only person in the room. I knew she was acting. The moves were so fake they could have come from MTV.

"Don't be so pouty, Damon. Where's the fun, sexy but playful yet innocent Damon that I knew so well?" She sounded disappointed in him that he wasn't the same as he was back when she knew him best.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he said, not sounding sorry at all.

"You better get your lady under control. She's sorta clingy," I said, pinching my fingers together to show how clingy she was.

"Katherine isn't anyone's lady," Damon said. "She's my maker and nothing else." He roughly pushed Katherine away from him and came to sit over beside the fireplace. She glared at him as she righted herself.

"I see that you're not grateful to me at all," she said, sounding mock hurt. "Why is that? When I could have done the one thing I was tempted to do…I could have spilled that blood right down on the bed beside you."

Damon scoffed. "Don't do me any favors."

Katherine shrugged and set aside the now empty whine glass. She started making her way towards the door. "I'm done with this conversation and I need some more blood."

Blood. That usually disgusting red substance was now very appealing to me. I jumped up from the ottoman and over to her. "Do you mind?"

"I was going to go and rob some low security blood bank but we can go do the real thing. Is that okay, Damon?" I knew she was mocking him, teasing him.

He looked up and met her eyes. A low growl slid out from between his clenched teeth. He shook his head sharply. "No. Forbes already suspects nothing about me and I want to keep it that way."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You're no fun." She tsked under breath and motioned for me to follow her. I looked back at Damon and then back at the door. I was playing a mental tug of war in my mind. One that would not let up.

"How about this? We go to the Grill and stake out some humans," Katherine said. "Promise we won't kill anyone, Damon." Damon looked highly skeptical of the idea but eventually nodded his head.

The Grill. I hadn't been here since the night I was turned. It was very odd considering the night and the warm but cool air. Just exactly like that night. Inside, some new local band was playing at the front. Not many people were out dancing but plenty were watching from their booths and tables.

"I'll be over there," Katherine said in my ear, pointing to a place at the bar. I followed behind her. I knew that I would be carded but also knew the outstanding mineral water they had here. I slid smoothly into the seat besides her and waited for the bartender dude to pay attention.

"Mineral water, with a lemon," I ordered. He nodded and got Katherine's bourbon order. What was it with vamps and drinking? I had smelled alcohol on Damon's breath both times I came into contact with him.

"What is it with vampires and drinking?" I asked as she sipped her drink. She pursed her lips together and set the drink down.

"Keeps the cravings under control," she said, under her breath. "Though it makes some of us look fat if we overdo it."

I picked my drink back up and took another sip.

"I could compel the guy to give you a drink if you want," Katherine offered. I shook my head. She shrugged as if to say it was my loss that I was refusing her.

I barely noticed someone else joining us. I only knew when the bartender slid a bourbon across to her. She thanked him and took a sip. "New to this, aren't you?" She asked.

I didn't know what to say to her. My shock at meeting someone besides the two most annoying people in the world, was making my brain a little fuzzy.

"I'm Casey Anderson. You?" I asked, feeling completely stupid.

She laughed. It was a nice laugh. Definitely feeling better than I was at the moment. I saw Katherine glance over curiously at the new stranger but she didn't say anything. I was grateful for that. I was curious and intrigued by this girl. I knew she was a vampire, I can't explain how I knew but I knew. Maybe it was some vampire sense that we all lived with. Maybe there was some underground society where we all could gather or something.

"I'm Rory Montgomery," she said. Weird. Seems like the past just keeps coming back to bite me in the ass. My sister and Monty. Good 'ole drug user, Monty. He strung her along for who knows how long. She might have noticed my freaked out expression for her face looked questioning.

"My sister had a boyfriend named Monty, that relationship doomed the moment it started."

"Sorry, kid."

"Don't be. He was a user and abuser. And don't say anything about how that rhymes, either," I added warningly. She nodded in a mock serious way and raised her hand.

"Scout's honor."

"Do you come here?" I was sure I would have seen her here at some point. I had come here nearly every school night to kick it with the homie g's. I studied her. She had a maturity about her in the way that she presented herself and talked. I can't really explain it other than that. I wondered just how old she really was. It wasn't a question that I felt like I could comfortably ask her.

She shrugged. "I had brothers once, long time ago. Aren't you a little young to be drinking?" She eyed my water.

"It's not booze. It's mineral water," I said, pushing it towards her. "Drink?" I chipped at a cracked nail and thought of another subject matter to talk about. "I met the man who turned me today." I saw Katherine's head swivel around in my direction.

"How long ago were you turned?"

"About a month ago by Damon Salvatore."

I saw some interest in her eyes. Did he seriously know everybody in this town or was it just me?

"Damon Salvatore. That's a name I haven't heard in awhile. Is he still on his little rampage?"

I paused before answering while a waiter brought over some fries and ketchup. "He said that he could smell the cancer in my body and that's why he changed me."

Rory shook her head. "Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart. Damon Salvatore doesn't do pity. How long did you have left?"

"He said that I had stage 4 cancer. I felt fine though!" I felt the sudden anger just burst through me like a cyclone. "I literally did not feel sick. Was he lying? You obviously know him better than I do."

I noticed a man, then entering the Grill. He looked like he was from 15th century England or something. He walked with a grace about him that made my head turn. I saw others glance over at him, too.

"That's a long story. I knew Damon when his heart was broken and he was looking for, well, revenge. And I taught him the in's and out's of being immortal. So you from Mystic Falls?"

"Oh is it Katherine?" I asked. "I met her." Where was she? I suddenly noticed that she had left. Great.

Rory looked over at the strange man. "You going to stand there all night?" She turned back to me. "Katherine, wow. That chick has issues, she toys with people and leaves others to pick up the pieces."

"Sounds like Katherine to me," I murmured, accepting another drink-this time a Sprite from the bartender. The man suddenly smiled at me and walked over closer to me, holding out his hand.

"Hello, and who may I ask is giving me the pleasure of their company?" Wow, flirty guy. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He sounded so corny talking like that.

"Cut the crap, Elijah. She's just a kid," Rory said.

"Casey Anderson," I said. "He's just being a gentleman."

"I overheard the story of her turning," Elijah said to Rory. "So the eldest Salvatore has ruined your life as well?"

"You can say that. He was being my protective savior...even though he never met me. How do you Damon?"

"He and I had a few dealings in the past. Nothing you need to worry your pretty head about."

I looked at Rory's ring. "How do you get that ring?"

"You need some expensive jewellery and a witch. I got mine from a gypsy girl a few hundred years ago."

"Oh. So can I just go into one of those witchy stores and get a sun protection ring?"

"Not so fast, kid. It doesn't work that way," Rory said. "A witch has to enchant it. They aren't sold in the shops."

Too bad. I looked at my bare fingers, imagining how one of them would look with that tacky thing on.

"Do they have to look so tacky?" Elijah cracked a smile. Rory just shook her head.

"Unfortunately, kid."

"Damn," I muttered.

She put a hand on my shoulder. "Trust me, kid you'll be so relieved to be out and free that you won't worry about the size or shape of the ring. _Be_lieve me."

"If you say so."


End file.
